


Building Bridges

by MikiAndArt



Category: No Fandom
Genre: F/M, hope you like it !, i swear this is fluff not angst, not angst yet heeheheh, these characters kinda exist but don't, they belong to miki and art, we promise there's a happy ending don't kill us just enjoy our lil nerd and our big hobo baby
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-24
Updated: 2020-10-18
Packaged: 2021-03-07 17:41:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,372
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26631547
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MikiAndArt/pseuds/MikiAndArt
Summary: A small-world, sheltered nerd bridges a connection with her intriguing, emo third year classmate.
Relationships: Kenji Hirano & Akira Ikeda
Kudos: 1





	1. with a Running Start

**Author's Note:**

> You start off meeting our baby Ikeda (last) Akira (first) and I'm sorry if it gets confusing with the names dkhffjkg. She lives in Fujisawa, Japan in the Kanagawa prefecture!! This story's in English but I threw in some Japanese words for the feel of the setting! Hopefully context clues will tell you what they mean if you don't already know. Enjoy! || Miki 
> 
> This is our first lil story with our lil babies we hope you like it :) Please be nice we love you hello- || Art

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> bebes :D

Intelligent. 

She walked down the sidewalk with bouncy, peppy steps, her backpack, heavier than most, softly beating against her back. Her chocolate brown hair, messily swept up into a bun held together by a feeble pencil, swayed with the mute gray skirt of her school uniform.

A smart, lone wolf.

She padded on silently with a small, untelling smile plastered to her round, friendly face. Her mind raced with her test results and that Friday’s homework, which in her opinion was relatively easy considering it was the end of the first week of school. She was excited to move out of her grade’s math, english, and necessary classes to a level better suited for her smarts.

Generally friendly, a teacher’s pet, and a _nerd._

Who was surrounded on both sides by a second year and two first years, one of Keio Shonan-Fujisawa Junior and Senior High, the same high school she attended, and one of a close college. The second year, despite being a year below, was the same age as Akira herself, as a result of Aki’s moving up.

Isako, the college freshman, beckoned a small, beat up box of calamari towards her, prompting her friend to take one, but she refused with a polite shake of her head. Her senpai shrugged and stuffed her face, commenting through her mouthful, “You did really great on the placement, Aki. I suspect you’ll be moving up?” she added, reading her mind.

“Duh.” The first year piped up. “Aki’s a nerd, period. She’s skipped grades all the way up till now and who says that’s gonna stop?”

“We’ll just wait and see, Kai.” Aki finally said, whisking out of her mind and onto the sidewalk, where they were nearing Isa’s car. “And no, I’m not a nerd.” She cut in with a roll of her exasperated hazel eyes, elbowing Kaiya with a huff when the teen snided, “Sorry, but I don’t believe you, brainiac.”

Isa tossed her tote into the trunk and turned towards her friends, straightening up. “I hope you guys have a restful weekend.” she told them with a sigh. “Do your homework, Kai this is to you, and don’t die; it’s just the first week! Oh, speaking of, Kai do you need a ride home?”

Kai looked up at the adult hesitantly with a shake of her head. “No, don’t worry about it! Aki can walk me home! Right?” The young girl narrowed her sharp eyes to face Aki, who nodded her head in both agreement and fear. “You worry about Mei. I don’t trust her alone.”

“Hey!” Mei asserted firmly, “You should respect your senpai a little more, I can handle myself you know, I’m no idiot.” she said, jabbed that she was seen as so vulnerable by her own peers, especially a weasel like Kai.

Isako sighed before trying to calm down her toddler of a friend. “Mei, shut up. Let’s go home, come on.” she said, trying to tame her child as she unlocked the car. Mei huffed pettily in response, trying to seem angry, before going back to her usual cheery expression. 

“Mata Ne!” she exclaimed, before hopping into the front seat, waving as Isa sped away. 

As the two disappeared into the distance, Aki turned back to the short first year “Kai, should we get going? I don’t want your mom to yell at me again.” she said, rubbing her neck with a sheepish grin.

“Hai!” her friend nodded. The duo slowly started in the direction of her house, not saying much and keeping the comfy silence between them. Aki thought of the mature, young girl as a “best friend,” despite the two not being as close as most pairs and living their own lives. She knew they trusted each other a lot more than they trusted any others, so the label stuck and it stuck well. 

When they reached Kai’s small, cozy little home, Kai gave a quick nod, a cheeky smile, and an “Arigato, Aki-chan!” as she stepped up the porch and closed the screen door behind her.

Aki stood there for another moment by herself before beginning down a block or so, not paying attention to direction. She got lost in runaway thoughts, thoughts of numbers and letters and that essay due next week. She watched her shadow bob up and down as she turned a corner and crossed the street. 

She was so captivated by absolutely nothing she slammed right into something incredibly firm and fell back in a flurry of shock and flailing arms. 

Something tall. Mysterious. Dark.

Aki looked up pensively to lock eyes with a tall boy; his deep black hair swooped to the left side of his face, hiding his curious gaze. With a small start she recognized him as someone from her high school. She’d seen him around a few times, standing aside loud, laughing upperclassmen, and she knew from what little gossip she picked up that many knew him, including her. It dawned on her that next week she’d be moving up to his level and that he might just be in her class. 

Her brain was so busy she jumped out of her skin when he bent over, observing her erratic behavior with a small, deep “You’re in my way.” 

Stunned, she gasped out “Ah, gomen senpai!” and leaped up, barely getting onto her feet and zooming right past him, slightly disoriented.

Admittedly, she wasn’t the best with people skills. Or people in general. Of course she wasn’t gonna make an attempt to talk to that angry schoolmate. Anyone who’s seen him would brand him a tsundere. He always wore black over his uniform, never spoke up, never associated with anyone out of his small gang. Had nothing to do with other people and social interaction.

He had nothing to do with her especially. Aki decided she wouldn’t try to talk to him. The nerd would just run.

\- - - - - - - - - || 7:20 AM || - - - - - - - - -

In a small, swift, tan blur, Akira quickly sprinted all over the house, wrapping up her uneaten breakfast and shoving everything in her backpack at once and strapping on her shoes, not wanting to be late to her first day as a third year. She made it halfway through the door when a loud ding! from the dinner table brought her back inside to snatch her phone.

_Mei | Today at 7:27  
Aki-chan, where are you?_

_me | Today at 7:27  
Ara, gomen!! I woke up late, don’t wait up, I’ll meet you two  
at school_

_Kaiya | Today at 7:28_  
_How irresponsible of you, Aki! We’ll meet you at the entrance  
before school starts smh_

Aki sprinted faster, feeling bad she held up her besties and cursing the weight of her bag. Hastily, she worked her way towards the entrance where her impatient peers awaited. “Aki-chan, you’re more than a genius in your studies, but you’re more than hopeless absolutely anywhere else.” Mei shook her head of black-to-purple hair with a sigh.

“Watch your mouth you incompetent grape!” Aki shot back, blowing a small, indignant raspberry in her direction.

Mei put a hand over her chest and looked away dramatically, pretending to be hurt by her words. “That just hurts. How mean, Aki-chan!” she said, giggling. 

They barely got another word in when the first bell rang out through the campus. The three parted ways with small, friendly waves, heading towards their respective buildings. Aki cheerily padded towards the third year building; she was clearly excited but still walked with a nervousness, looking away from everyone and keeping her presence undetected.

For all her giddiness in moving up once more, she couldn’t bring herself to even breathe near her peers. Aki knew she must be smarter than a good handful of them, but of course she was an absolute failure at people and social interaction in general. She knew from past experiences she was an easy target for bullies; she was young and incredibly smart, and to some of her classmates that made her a prodigy, but to most it made her look like a threat, a cheat, a child.

She made it to her first class and almost immediately noticed the offputting, interesting boy she’d quite literally run into that Friday afternoon. He hadn’t taken notice of her yet and was sitting at a desk at the far side, staring blankly into space. 

She decided not to waste so much brain power on her senpai and instead glanced around the room. It was barely any different from the second year classrooms she’d previously gone into, but bigger and more spacious. It was a very open white with the light brown desks arranged in neat, tidy rows; hers was closer to the back, but dangerously close to the boy’s. 

Aki sighed; he’d notice her for sure as she quietly stepped towards her seat and sat down, placing her backpack next to her and nervously turning her gaze to the “Welcome!” on the dark green chalkboard in front.

Despite how long the class seemed to drag on, Aki enjoyed how challenging it was and continued to stay focused scribbling down notes in neat lettering.

She was so focused, in fact, that she didn’t catch the intrigued black gaze of another classmate from behind her, taking note of the way she twiddled with her fingers and cutely played with her pen instead of taking notes on the teacher’s lecture. She had no idea how he was feeling from behind her, and honestly he didn’t really know either.

The lecture finished just on time and the bell rang. The whole class quickly stood up in unison, grabbing notebooks and backpacks and rushing out, whisking a petite Aki with them. She regained balance and looked around anxiously for the right directions. As she started down the hallway towards her second class, a strong hand reached out and grabbed her wrist. She whipped around to see the boy that’d been observing her earlier. His eyes were narrowed and hard to read.

“Who the hell do you think you are?” he spat suddenly, sounding almost...angry at her..? 

Aki shrank away from his gaze. “Y-you can call me Ikeda...” she mumbled sheepishly.

The upperclassman’s nose twitched in annoyance. “You know that isn’t what I meant. Tch...you can’t call me ‘senpai’ and then show up to my class. That's not how that works.” His voice raised and his grip tightened around her shaking arm. “Are you like stupid ill or something? Are you just an idiot?” he hissed, his voice hitching into a shout.

They were the only two standing in the hallway at this point; Aki looked as if she were about to cry. “G-gomen, Hirano-san, technically I’m only sixteen. I should be in my second year...I only found out this morning I would be moving up once again. I’m a little ahead of my grade.”

“Hnh..whatever. Not like I cared.” 

The small girl quickly turned on her heel, getting ready to rush away to her respective class, when she was stopped by the same hand grabbing her shoulder. “You...you said you were like, really smart right?” he backtracked, calming himself down.

“H-hai.” she stammered in reply, nodding her head. She was terrified of what he was going to say next.

His stare sharpened. “Tutor me.” he stated simply. His tone was confident, but her eyes widened at the small blush streaking his cheeks, most likely of embarrassment. 

“H-huh?!” Aki gasped, barely processing what he was asking of her.

“You heard me. I need a tutor for this year. If I fail this one too...I won’t go to college.”

She looked at him pityingly, her eyebrows knitted over confused hazel eyes. “But...but why me? Why don’t you ask someone, anyone else? One of your friends or something? Why me...” she repeated, completely intimidated.

“None of my friends are....the brightest...and besides,” The third year shrugged, looking right at her with raised, indifferent eyebrows. “Who would turn down an opportunity to have a pretty girl tutor them?” 

Aki’s face flushed at the blunt, cheeky statement; guys were normally too busy sneering at her to call her pretty. “Uh- I- y-your mood switched rather suddenly...a-arigato, senpai...” 

She tripped over her words and hid her face behind her hands. He smirked. “I’ll be seeing you at the small cafe near the park at, say, three?”

“S-sounds good!” came Aki’s muffled reply as she turned tail and sprinted away from him yet again.

She turned corners and corners, not bothering to look back to see where he had gone; Aki skidded into class as the bell struck and sighed, taking a seat near the back. Nobody’s heads turned to look at her and she was glad for it. She kept her head down and tried to be attentive, pulling out her notebook, but _why did he of all people notice her?_

More importantly, **why had she agreed to tutor the stupid third year?**

Darn her lack of social interaction, of course she had said yes. The thought of ditching the dummy crossed her mind as she absentmindedly nodded to the teacher’s question. Ditching wasn’t in Aki’s book however, and she didn’t need yet another senior glaring at her from across the room.

_It would just be in my best interest to go, I suppose._

She had given her yes, and he needed the help. She had nothing to do back at home anyway besides study till the break of dawn; she had to get out of there eventually. And of course, she couldn’t deny feeling just a teeny, tiny bit curious about how it would go. She’d rarely had one on ones with anyone, not friends, not peers, not that mysterious, maybe just slightly intriguing boy. She had nothing to lose from a tutoring lesson.

Aki rolled her eyes, making a mental note to head over after school…

\- - - - - - - - - || 3:05 PM || - - - - - - - - -

The small bell above the door rang out sweetly as she entered the cafe, taking in the warm atmosphere and the vague chatter of the few other customers; namely, her new ‘student’ sitting at a small table near the window. He looked up from the big ol’ textbook in front of him as Aki made her way towards her seat. “Let's just hurry and get this over with before someone sees us.” she said with a cold edge, pouting at him.

“Wh- you’re _embarrassed_ of me Ikeda-chan?” the boy whined teasingly.

His new tutor huffed. “Let’s say I am. And no, don’t call me that.” she added, slipping a few more textbooks out of her own bag. Aki continued on before he could wit her brutal statements. “So what exactly do you need help with? Judging by the books you brought with you, math and chemistry?”

He nodded in response, leaning back in his chair. “I’ve always been a rather quick thinker socially, but I’m far from academically gifted, like you Ikeda-chan~”

“Don’t call me that, you idiot. Anyways,” She snatched away a folder of his and peeped through it, her face scrunching up after each page of extra work he’d gotten from a teacher. “Uhm, Hirano-san, this is middle school level math.”

He flinched in embarrassment and exclaimed, “Well I did tell you I wasn’t gifted academically!” The boy crossed his arms. “No need to rub it in, cutie.” he grumbled from under his bangs. Akira could tell he was a bit taken aback by her harsh words, which made her chuckle despite herself.

“I’ll say it again, idiot, you and your mood changes are rather unnerving. Stick to one so we can get on with this, and I prefer the whiny one.” She grinned at him.

“Oi! You’re lucky I'm actually being nice to you, Ikeda-chan. Hurry up and help me, I hate this.”

Over the next two and a half hours, a tired, exasperated Akira explained and re-explained simple math to her grumbling, confused student. He wrote down problems and “listened” to her and gave them to her to check, only for her to nearly strangle him when they were all wrong. The third year seemed more focused on teasing her and jabbing her; she was _sure_ he’d gotten the concepts already and was doodling her on the margins of his notes just to spite her.

By the end of it, _he_ was the one who had the _nerve_ to complain, “Ikeda-chan, I’m tiiiiiired! My brain huuuurts, can we just rest and chat now?” he added with a trying wink.

“You’re the one who asked me to tutor you, you baby. I never said it would be easy. For any of us.” she hissed back at him. “Reminder that I’m doing this for free. I didn’t have to come deal with you and your tired brain. I suppose I shouldn’t have in the first place.”

She made an angry noise, grabbed her stuff and burst out of her seat, opening the glass door with more force than she should have and stalking away. She groaned, wondering why she had gone through the trouble of being nice to him when her obnoxious senpai ran after her, yelling “Wait! Ikeda-chan!!”

Aki pivoted around on a foot, looking up at him with furrowed eyebrows. 

“What now, idiot-san?” she asked. Sarcasm colored her words, and his eyes widened in surprise. 

“Gomen, Ikeda. I just came to give this-” He pulled out one of her sticky notes from his pocket and promptly stuck it on her forehead. Aki scrambled to peel it off and saw a small doodle of her; it was surprisingly intricate and beautiful from someone so...not. His name, _Kenji Hirano_ , was horribly scribbled next to it.

“And,” Kenji continued, biting his lip in hesitation before smirking and leaning towards her. “I have just the right thing to repay you with.”


	2. with Blaring Lights

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> where lonely Aki is suddenly not very lonely anymore.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> was supposed to get this out like the 13th but take it you're welcome >:D || Art

“A _party _?”__

__“Mhm, heheh.”_ _

__“...You’re kidding right.”_ _

__Akira stared at the boy, clearly unamused. Now, it wasn’t that the small girl didnt want to attend this “party” of his. For a split-second, a “yes” hung at the tip of her tongue. It would be a new, perhaps even exciting experience for the lone wolf. Arriving there on Hirano-san's arm; nobody would try to bully her, and she might actually have _fun _. Mei was hosting it too, so it could only be a win-win. However her thought train halted when she was brought back to earth by her senpai’s voice.___ _

____“Nice try _princess _, but I wasn’t _asking _. Besides, think about it with that big brain of yours. You’re alone pretty much all the time.” He continued with a good-natured eyeroll. “Wouldn’t it be nice to take a break from all your studying and _actually _go make some friends?”_______ _ _ _

__________His last line slightly irked the brunette. _Do people really think I have no friends? _She knew more than anyone it was hard for her to talk to people in and out of her classes; most of them thought of her as the ‘big-brain’ vulnerable nerd and scorned her before she got the chance to change that, but she wasn't that lonely all the time!___ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________She shot back, “I have friends! And I don’t need to spend this Friday night around drunk idiots who barely know how to keep it in their pants.” Aki huffed, now displeased and more than a little hurt._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________“Is that so?” the raven haired boy asked, combing through his options to convince the petite girl. “Well then,” he proposed with a smirk on that face of his. “It’s either you come to this party with yours truly, or allow me to call you by your first name.” _A genius idea, genius. he thought despite himself. ___ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __

____________That was, until, the small intellectual argued once more. “I don’t give my first name out to strangers. I’m your sensei, not your friend.” She looked off with a huff, crossing her arms and smiling spitefully. “But I’ll call you Kenji-senpai if it makes you feel any better.” She clearly hadn’t carefully thought out what she just said, or rather, implied._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Kenji now had a cheeky smile on his face. “Ah, well I understand, that can’t be helped.” He shrugged. “However, since you don’t want to give me your first name…” He grinned at Ikeda, who’s eyes had now widened in embarrassment. “I’ll be picking you up on Friday at eight, Ikeda-chan~”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________“Don’t call me that.” the tiny girl asserted._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________“A deal is a deal Ikeda-chan. I take it you’ll be sending me your info sooner or later?”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Aki sighed, her unentertained frown not leaving her face. “Who said we were going with your plan.” she whined, ironically getting out her phone with an eye roll. “Kuso…” she muttered, just loud enough to make sure he heard it. She beckoned for his contact, which quite obviously amused him._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Next thing he knew, he had gotten a small _ding! _from his phone; the small message held her address, and he smiled in triumph. He’d gotten her number and address in the same five minutes.___ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________“Whatever. My mom is expecting me home soon.” she piped up abruptly. Aki quickly turned towards the direction of her neighborhood before murmuring a quiet “I’ll see you then.” loud enough for Kenji to hear._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________He stood there in some kind of awe at what had just happened, almost amazed at how that actually worked. He nodded in a daze, even though Ikeda wasn’t facing him anymore. Suddenly he snapped back to reality and quickly raced home._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________(back to aki~)_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________As Akira paraded down the street back to her house, she honestly found herself a little, _just a little _, excited for the party. Despite being incredibly intelligent and gifted in the academic department, she was severely lacking in social skills. She had three friends, with whom she wasn’t even particularly close to. She couldn’t tell them her deepest secrets, and if she had such a weak connection with her “best” friends, why bother trying to get even more useless bonds that were considered friendships. She made sure to steer clear of any people that weren’t Isako, Mei, or Kai._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __

______________However, the end of this week would be different. She arrived at the doorstep of her house, unlocking the door and briskly rushing upstairs to her room, not even alerting her mother she was home._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________\- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - || 6:30 PM || - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________The week had come and gone; Aki, quiet and hidden as ever, prodded on with her studies, spending the evenings holed up in her room while her parents were busy with other doodads. The anticipation building up to that Friday was horrible, and while equations and novels drew her away from her social anxiety, they couldn’t save her from this. Back and forths in her brain had kept her up past her curfew, as she tried convincing herself that it would be good for a mole like her. Friday finally pulled up, and she pushed through school, awaiting Kenji’s repayment._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________Now she finished getting ready, and the young nerd glanced at the time. It was six-thirty; a good hour and a half before Kenji would come get her. Her excitement dragged her to the bathroom mirror. She admitted that she did look rather plain, especially for her first high school party. Aki decided she would use her spare time to ready herself up a bit more, try something new for the new occasion. Instead of her original outfit, of deep black jeans and a simple blouse, she decided to go with something more...elegant._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________She settled on a slick black dress that hugged her small, yet slim figure nicely. On top of that she untied her bun and let her hair run loose, which for Aki was a really rare occurrence. She had shiny dark brown hair that she let down once or twice; she knew that everyone, especially her friends, thought it looked prettier when worn down, but it was nothing more than an inconvenience to her, so Aki never listened._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________The petite girl stared at herself in the mirror. She really stared. Really taking in her dressed up figure. As much as she hated to admit it, she liked the way she looked sometimes, looking up and down herself with a sort of satisfaction. She hated complimenting herself like this as not to come off “cocky” or “over confident,” but it was moments like these where she saw herself as more than just a genius. Maybe Kenji was right._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________While she was captivated by her thoughts, she hadn’t realized her senpai had already reached her porch downstairs, ringing the doorbell and stepping back to wait. She quickly hurried down, running lightly with new black heels, spotting her mother talking to the boy. Neither of them acknowledged or noticed her just yet._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________“Are you one of Aki’s friends?” her mother asserted, facing Kenji in the doorway._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________His eyes were blown wide at the sound of her given first name; Aki knew he’d never forget and silently cursed her mother._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________Kenji paused for a second, then proceeded, “O-oh, yeah! My name is Hirano Kenji. You must be Ikeda-sama. Me and Ikeda-chan are classmates. We have a mutual friend who’s having a small get-together and I said I would be able to pick her up.” Aki wondered how such a witty, snarky, idiot could turn into such a wholesome gentleman in a matter of just a few hours. She found it interesting._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________Deciding to brush it off, she stepped into view, making them both aware of her presence. “Oh, Hirano-san! Sorry for the wait, I was looking for my phone.” She gave a warm smile, sweet enough to fool her mother, but fake enough to tell Kenji she was not fond about the situation they were in._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________Kenji halted for a moment and looked at his petite kouhai. Her heels brought her to a solid 5’3, which was still short enough for him to make fun of. Her dress and loose wavy hair were, dare he say it, beautiful. She didn’t look like the nerd he had poked at just a couple hours ago. Something weird stirred in his chest, and he managed to spit out a response. “O-oh hi Ikeda- c-chan…”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________Her mother took this as a cue to leave; she turned and went upstairs with an uncomfortable silence._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________Aki, now embarrassed, shrank into her figure, spitting out “What? Is there something wrong with my outfit? Is it too formal? You-you could’ve told me the dress code...” she said, turning her body away._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________“N-no! You...you look great. For your first high school party that is! Speaking of which let’s get going!” her senpai said quickly, averting his eyes and attempting to hide his embarrassed blush from Ikeda. Luckily for him, she knew close to nothing about social cues._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________She looked at him, slightly unamused. “It’s… fine then. Let’s leave already, before we’re late.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________Kenji put on a new smirk, holding the door open for the petite girl as she walked out. Mei’s house was a few blocks down, an easy distance to walk in the amount of time they had left. He offered his arm to her and sighed when she brushed right past him, refusing. His confidence didn’t waver however, and the two, one _far _in front of the other, headed down towards Aki’s first outside party.___ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________\- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - || 7:45 PM || - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________Her senpai swung open Mei’s door for her, and when she hesitated, he stepped into the inviting atmosphere with Akira trailing close behind. She peered around, taking in her surroundings. Bright LED lights lined the edges of the living room walls and switched from one neon color to the next every few seconds, illuminating Mei’s normally comfy house with rowdy greens, reds, and blues. There were covered tables set up with a billion beverages and snacks of every shape and size, and on top of it all there were tons and tons of people. In reality, Aki estimated a good thirty to forty others, but even that much social interaction overloaded her senses. They talked loudly over one another, and their voices merged with the music filtering from a speaker to the side._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________Aki struggled to see over the sea of heads but managed to spot the one other familiar face at the party; her friend Mei was standing at the kitchen, overlooking her guests with a chill, friendly demeanor. She beckoned them towards the food, allowing them to refer to her by her first name over surname._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________She quickly mumbled to Kenji where she was heading, knowing that her words most likely got lost in all the hustle and bustle, and pushed through tall shoulders and flashing lights to reach the host. Mei normally stood taller than Aki, but with her heels on, the nerd was just barely above her head. Shocked to see her usually quiet and reserved friend at such a large party, Mei nearly exclaimed, “Aki-chan? Why are you here?”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________She looked away shyly, unsure if she wanted to tell her friend the real reason she showed up at her place. “Etto...you see i’m here with a friend!”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________Unconvinced, Mei narrowed her pretty brown eyes. “And that friend is Hirano-senpai?” she inquired. As Aki’s social support, she found the sudden connection between the two weird. What he could possibly be planning was beyond her._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________“H-hai...” the small genius replied, nodding her head. “We ended up in the same class and he needed academic support. He asked me to accompany him.” she muttered, rolling eyes from under her hair._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________Tilting her head in confusion, the purple-haired girl replied with “Does Kai know? And..what about Mizaki-san?”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________Aki looked at her, just as confused. “Kai? What about Kai? And Mizaki-san...you mean Yuriko from 3-B? What about her too?” she asked. Mei opened her mouth to speak but was interrupted by the subject in question._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________“Ikeda-chan!” They both turned to see the upperclassman Aki had shown up with. “Mei-chan, nice to see you too!” He smiled slightly, with Mei nodding her head in response._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________Kenji continued, “Ikeda-chan, I’d like you to meet my _girlfriend _Mizaki Yuriko.” He paused and gestured to a tall blonde girl who stood next to him, his arm wrapped around her shoulder. Aki had commonly seen her around too; she was friends with Mei, last she remembered, and often hung out with Kenji’s group of males. He angled towards Yuriko, beckoning his head towards Aki. “Yuri-chan, this is the girl I told you about, the tutor?”___ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________________The pretty blonde nodded her head before speaking and spoke to Aki with a friendly blue gaze. “Ah, Aki-chan, I didn’t know you were tutoring my boyfriend! I appreciate your help! It’s been a while, I’m happy to meet you, Aki!”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________________“Likewise, Mizaki-san” the tutor replied with a sweet little smile. She glanced sideways at Mei once more, giving her a knowing look to tell her she now understood what she had meant._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________________“Oh, Kenji, could you get me a drink?” Yuriko suddenly piped up. The boy nodded his head with a grin and headed towards the table on the far side. “Arigato!” She smiled warmly as he turned away, but when she faced Aki again, her beautiful face was colder. “Are you going to be a threat?”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________________Aki said nothing out of confusion. “What are you talking about, Mizaki-san?”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________________The third year shook her head in disappointment. “No no, forget about it! You’re so reserved and quiet and sheltered after all, there’s no way you would have some ulterior motive.” she sighed, with a soft smile forming upon her heart-shaped lips._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________________Struggling to understand, Aki chimed in once more, “Gomen, Mizaki-san...I may be smart enough in school to skip a grade or two, but my social knowledge is rather limited.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________________Mei, who had stood next to her observing the interaction, shook her head in embarrassment of her sweet friend. “What she means is that my friend here, well, she doesn’t understand anything you’re saying. Or rather implying.” she explained with a trying, disappointed smile._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________________Yuriko nodded with another sigh. “Ah, I see. That’s alright then, I suppose.” She murmured this, half to herself, and walked away without another word._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

**Author's Note:**

> This is the first chapter of a not-fanfic and and and it's one of the first I've helped write so be nice to me and I hope you liked this one! I swear more's coming we're just busy and writer's block hates me don't worry you'll see more of our babies comiiiiing soon! :D || Art
> 
> don't hurt me, genghis- || Miki


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